Estela's Fresh Mex opened for its soft opening the first week of October at 184 E. Burlington St. in the same building that houses Zombie Burger. The grand opening is set for Friday. Like a grandmother's kitchen, it's open more often than it's closed: 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and until 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.

With a sign that reads "fresh food made quick with love" hanging right next to the menu in the 40-seat restaurant, Vasquez said Estela's selection of burritos, tacos, quesadillas, nachos and enchiladas pays homage to — and use the recipes of — his grandmother.

In fact, Estela's is a family operation, owned and operated by Vasquez, his mother and Estela's daughter, Elsa Delapaz, Vasquez's step-father, Arnulfo Delapaz, and his friend and business partner Tyler Tiecke.

The Mexican shop is owned and operated by many of those who ran Mami's Authentic Mexican Food Service, a small grab-and-go counter service restaurant that ran with only three stools for in-store dining for five years just a few block east of where Estela's now stands. Mami's closed in September.

"We took everything we learned from Mami's and started fresh with something new," Vasquez said. "We finally got a restaurant we thought was worthy of Estela's name."

“We do our fresh-pressed tortillas with a machine I found in San Antonio. It makes them almost just as good as my grandmother does,” Vasquez said.

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The interior of Estella's Fresh Mex in Iowa City is shown on Oct. 13, 2017.(Photo: Zach Berg / Iowa City Press-Citizen)

Horchata, a creamy Latin American drink usually made with rice, cinnamon and vanilla; Jarritos, a popular brand of soft drinks from Mexico; and other drinks add a bit more splash of Mexican culture to the restaurant.

By opening at 7 a.m. every day, Vasquez says his restaurant is helping fill a need: a breakfast place that's actually open early that can service both a sit-down audience and on-the-go customers.

"I’m a big breakfast guy. I’ve noticed there’s a need in Iowa City. A Mexican breakfast is something different and brings some diversity to the breakfast scene," Vasquez said.

To draw the breakfast crowds, Estela's has five unique breakfast burritos available to order all day long: the Iowan features eggs, beans, bacon, chorizo, carnitas, cheese, potatoes, veggies and pico de gallo; the Buff, perhaps the most over-the-top of the bunch, features pancakes, eggs, cheese, bacon, potatoes, pico de gallo and maple syrup — all in one burrito.

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A promise for customers is shown next to the Estela's Fresh Mex menu inside the Iowa City restaurant on Oct. 13, 2017.(Photo: Zach Berg / Iowa City Press-Citizen)

Vasquez said the location will help to draw customers, too. Estela's sits on the ground floor of a new five-story, mixed-use structure that was built on the site that once held West Bank at the intersection of East Burlington and South Dubuque streets. East Burlington through downtown Iowa City is one of the most trafficked streets for vehicles and pedestrians in the city.

According to information from the Iowa City Assessors Office, the building is owned by 229 S. Dubuque LLC. The Press-Citizen has previously reported that the building permits for the structure were under the name of Jeff Clark. The Clark family owns Apartments Downtown, the largest student-housing rental company in Iowa City. Above Estela's sits four floors of apartments.

The first business to open in the commercial space of the building's first floor was Zombie Burger in December of 2016. Soseki Sushi Cafe and Sake Bar will soon officially open in the same building, right next door to Estela's, this month, said Soseki's owner Kevin Wu.

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The building that houses Estela's is shown on Oct. 13, 2017.(Photo: Zach Berg / Iowa City Press-Citizen)

"This location is huge. It's one of the main intersections in Iowa City, and it's only going to get more foot traffic," Vasquez said.

Estela's is just a few blocks north of two construction projects that will provide even more housing to just south of the downtown area. The still-under-construction RISE at Riverfront Crossings project, at the southwest corner of Linn and Court streets, includes two towers: a 15-story residential building and a 14-story mixed-use building that will house a Hyatt Place hotel. A few minutes west is another large still-under-construction project: a 15-story luxury student housing apartment building at 316 Madison St.